My Mom

Saturday, April 21, 2012

I have such a "need" to tell you about my sweet Mom.......as she enters the final weeks of her life.

Many of you know my mom Dorothy......you might have called her Dot....or maybe Mrs. Calloway.  You may have gone to church with her or maybe you knew her through me......You might be her sister-in-law or niece or nephew or grandchild.

I never met anyone who didn't love Mom.  

As I selfishly sit here wishing for more time with her; regretting missed opportunities; missed chances to tell her just how very much I loved her....all the while knowing she is the "lucky" one as she will soon be meeting her heavenly Father.....preparing to be called to her permanent, beautiful, over-the-moon, out-of-this-world Heavenly home, I wanted to revisit my Mothers Day blog with you......

Happy Mothers Day!

Mother's Day is so bittersweet to me........SWEET cause I was blessed with the sweetest Mom of them all.....BITTER cause I know I won't have her with me "forever".....As the years go by faster and faster, I see my  time with her getting shorter and shorter and it simply breaks my heart.   

For those of you whose time has already ended with your Mom, my heart aches for you right now and these tears that I'm crying as I type this right now are for you.  And for those of you who maybe don't understand your Mom; maybe are angry with her; maybe feel she wasn't the mom you "deserved"........please remember she was the Mom that God gave you and He gave her to YOU for a reason.  I'm sure there were many moments my Mom felt she didn't get the daughter she deserved when she was having to chase me around the bed to spank me or the millions of other things I did to disappoint her.

But today, I want to thank my beautiful Mom for a few things that time can never take away....

* For all the yearly Mother-Daughter Trip memories we made together.  From Hawaii to the Bahamas; from Asheville, NC to San Antonio; from Oklahoma City to Hot Springs, AR; not to mention Branson, MO to Florida......we have seen and experienced so much together.  We have learned your stomach shouldn't ever take a cruise again; and we have learned what our maximum amount of time together should be.  These trips will be forever etched in my memory, even when I'm old and can't remember who I am.....

* For working at that hot Sears warehouse during our school age years so we could attend church school.......even though I only excelled in "talking, goofing off and laughing"......this was NOT your fault!

*  For driving us to school in downtown Dallas on Central Expressway and never "pulling the car over RIGHT NOW" as you often threatened......

* For forgetting to tell Dad when he got home as you promised to do when we were extra bad.......

* For the love of bowling.....I never was able to beat you at bowling....DOGGONIT!

* For being the "Monster" at Chuck's and my house at Halloween  in Dallas and scaring all the little kids....You were AWESOME!

Thanks Mom, for being YOU!!  

Hilda Has A Home......

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Sooooo.....how does one get THIS sweet thang which I have affectionally named Hilda.....


......into a garage full of tools, wheelchairs and wood working equipment with a husband who doesn't like people touching his "crap....uhhh....stuff"?  

They get their neurotic-clean-freak-friend-Steve-whose-actually-been-on-Oprah-and-treated-by-Dr.-Laura-for-this-twitchy-obsessive-issue, to help.

While Chuck took an afternoon nap on Friday, Steve and I quietly worked as fast as we could before Chuck woke up,  to move his 500 pound wood working equipment around to make room for Hilda.  

And WHALLL----LA........It fit!!!

Barely.

I've Misplaced My "Joy"........

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

"Peace is not merely the absence of conflict in your life,

It is also the defeat of self-doubt in your path."

by Dodinsky

I have a confession......

I have misplaced my "Joy".

Have you ever gone through periods in your life when everything was perfect; the planets lined up precisely; everyone in your life was happy, healthy and well; the sky was bluer; the grass was greener.....

And the whole time you're going through that perfect period in your life, you have that constant little whisper in your head that's telling you it won't last......don't get too comfortable cause it'll be taken from you.....

Well, lately I've been feeling that time has come.  I've been missing my Joy.  It just seems like everyone I know is sick....or in crisis-mode......or just plain sad.

But in an attempt to get my Joy back, I was looking back through snapshots I've taken of where I've been and what I've seen over the past few weeks and it dawned on me, my Joy has been there all along........I just needed to open my eyes.

Check it out here.....

Murphy's Mom Blog Video

Flea Market Canton Weekend........

Sunday, February 5, 2012

No, this is not a side-ways peace sign.......

Nor some kind of "gang symbol"........

It's the total number of hours it took me to lose the hotel room key after check-in........

My girlfriends, Becky and Kim (you remember her....she was our neighbor that moved away from the lake several years ago and we boo-hoo'd for weeks and you, my Bloggers, were forced to listen to my whining....) and I headed to Canton this weekend to see what kind of trouble we could get ourselves into.  Unfortunately, no trouble was found, but we did find lots of other things.....

So much so that Liz barely fit in the back of Kim's truck.........

MY RAINY DAY.....

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Yesterday was Mother-Daughter Dentist Day!

Between torential, flooding rains and a 2-hour drive to Dallas from East Texas, I picked my sweet mother up at her Assisted Living Home; bright blue shower cap on her head to protect her beloved hair from the rain, 2 scarves around her neck, 4 layers of clothes and a quick run to the van in her wheelchair, and we were on our way!

As some of you know, we were able to purchase a handicap conversion van in December for Chuck.  I have swore my entire life that I would never own a mini-van.....a soccer-mom bullet of destruction is what I always called them.....but here I am driving a minivan.  I'm not complaining, though....it's been an answer to prayer by allowing Chuck to take his wheelchair with us anywhere and everywhere we go.....but its a MINIVAN.  Word of advice:  Never Say Never.

And check out my latest Goodwill find........I was beyond words when I found this lovely robe....with my NAME ON IT!!  Yes, it says Lizzy and not Liz.....but hey.....close enough!  And...it was only $4.99!!  DANG......I amaze myself sometimes!

And thought I'd just throw in recent pic's of Murphy and Molly.......Don't they just make you want to rub their head or something??

Murphy

Molly

Bumps and Holes In Our Journey.....

January 20, 2012

A few weeks ago, we spent a few days in Brenham visiting our old friends Norm and Sue.  As some of you know, Norm has been struggling with liver failure.  They've had lots of bumps and holes in their lives over the past year as Norm endured weekly treatments, and the last 18 months have been especially difficult ones for him and Sue.

Their struggle reminded me of a tough time I had a few years ago with a family member.  One night, after a particularly difficult day during that painful time, I had a dream.  That dream got me through that conflict and many conflicts since........and something told me this might just be what some of you needs to hear.......

My dream started with me riding in the backseat of my car with a chauffeur (it's a Jeep Wranger Rubicon, by-the-way, in Mango-Tango orange).   Some friends and family members are on this ride too and none of us can actually see the face of our Driver, but he's mapped out our route and we trust Him to take us where we need to go.  We start off on a nice smooth highway, cruising along at a nice pace, looking out the window at all the other cars going by and enjoying the ride.   Then He turns off the busy highway onto a nice country road.  We're loving the view and notice there aren't near as many cars on this road as there were on the highway.  Eventually, the road gets even less traveled and the asphalt, which has now turned to dirt, is getting rougher and rougher.  We start feeling the bumps and holes in the road and getting jostled around quite a bit.  Some of my friends and family in my Jeep Rubicon in Mango Tango Orange start losing faith in my Driver and want out of the car.  Although He tries to assure them He has a GPS and this road will get us to our destination, they insist He stop cause they can't stand the bumps any longer.  So, He reluctantly pulls over and lets them out.  Although I can't see His face, I can tell by his posture how hurt He is that they didn't trust Him to get them to their final destination.

As we start back up on this very bumpy road, He repeatedly assures us this is the right road; the ONLY road that will get us to our destination, and that He has driven this road many times.  He proceeds to tell me that all of those cars we had seen and passed on the highway were going the wrong direction.....and that He had tried repeatedly to flag them down.....let them know the road ahead ended in death and destruction, but they weren't interested in taking the bumpy road....they wanted the smooth, uneventful, easy road....cause they knew best.  As we bounce around in the backseat from all the bumps and holes, with a smile in His voice, he starts describing our amazing, incredible destination ahead.

What a great dream, huh?  I think of this every day.   It reminds me that with each bump and hole in my journey, I am one mile closer to my final destination......and it reminds me to give thanks for those bumps and holes.  After all, without these trials and struggles, why would we need a Driver?


“Enter through the narrow gate.  For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matthew 7:13-14).

Beadboard-A-Holic-Opia.......

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

After a week of working on the beadboard project in the Media Room and Kitchen Nook, we can finally say, "It Is Finished".......

Well, almost......

We've lost an electrical plate cover in the Nook; accidently painted the window; and discovered just how filthy our carpet was in the Media Room.

We've made a deliberate act of NOT turning the overhead light on in there for about.....ohhh.....I'd say 5 years.  We've been using "mood" lighting in there all this time for fear of what we'd find if we actually turned the overhead lighting on.

AND......

We were right to leave the light off.....

AND......

The lake is fillin' back up.....it's RAINING!!!

My Friend, Beadboard.......

January 6, 2011 2012



Check out what I saw on the side of the ladies bathroom stall at the movie theatre the other day.....

It's "Hi" in GUM!!  How very clever.......

 For the past week, Chuck and I, along with our friend Steve, have been installing beadboard to the walls of the TV room and kitchen dinette area.  Actually, Liz hasn't lifted a single finger, but she has been right there giving advice and telling them when its wrong.

I came up with the idea to install beadboard to the walls of the TV room cause my dear, beloved husband had rubbed the paint off the walls with his "snack pack" food supply containers while watching TV.  Because they are dark burgundy walls, it really really shows when he scratches the paint off the wall.  See??

I figure with beadboard, this can't happen.  Fingers crossed........

And that's when it happened.......I officially became a "beadboard-aholic".  I love everything beadboard.  I want it in every room.....every wall......as a backsplash in my kitchen......in the backs of all my cabinets....maybe a little on the ceiling......

As I mentioned this to Chuck and Steve, they simply looked at me like I had 3 heads or something.  I could see the wheels turning in Steve's head as he tried to imagine the cuts he'd have to make to do a backsplash........or, heaven-forbid.....a ceiling.

And that's when I "think" I heard him say, "?!*$$@!?"

The next time you see this picture, it will have BEADBOARD all around it!!!!

WHOO HOOO!!!!!

Think About What Is.....

December 24, 2011

"Whatever is true....

Whatever is lovely....

Whatever is right....

Think about such things."  

Phillippians 4:8

On the way to Dallas last week......A Blessing!!

Merry Christmas-Eve!!!

As I sit here, waiting for inspiration on what to write you, I must tell you I sit here with a smile on my face, looking outside at the misting rain falling, the dry lake that is starting to come back to life, the friends and family we have been so blessed with, and I can't help but be reminded that each of us, yes....YOU.....have all been given the same blessing!

The Blessing of Christ!  

You know, I think if Christ were physically sitting next to you right now,  He might be saying "As you celebrate the wonder of My birth, celebrate YOUR rebirth into eternal life" or maybe He might say "This everlasting gift was the sole purpose of My entering your sin-filled world.....receive MY gift with awe and humility."  I don't know about you, but this time of year, to me, isn't about the gifts we give each other.....it isn't about the parties we attend; it isn't about the Christmas tree lights working......nope....it's all about the Blessing.

Unfortunately, some of you are going to have stopped reading this Blog by now cause its too "religious" or maybe not what you want to think about today, but if you're still reading, please stop at some point today and mentally write down all the many Blessings in your life.   That's what I'm doing......see??

Friends.......My Blessing

My Blessings

My Chuck

My Family

My Friends and Neighbors

My Murphy, Molly and Kruger

My Home

My Church

My Health

My Inner Peace

My Talents

My Favorite Chair

My Coffee

My Computer

My Dorkiness

Well, you get the idea.........What's on YOUR Blessings List?

From the Etheridge's home to Yours, may you find the Blessing of Christmas......

You Will Be Missed, Cici

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

"Our most difficult task as a friend 

is to offer understanding when we don't understand." 

 ~Robert Brault 

It's taken me all week to start this Blog, and even now I'm not really sure how to begin......

Her name is Cici.  She and I have had many a laugh over the fact we don't really know how we know each other.....we just do.  Over the years, we would run into each other around town, hug and ask how the other was doing....all the while wondering in our heads how we knew each other.  I just figured she was one of those angels God drops into your life because He knew you needed them.

As time went by, our friendship grew.   She introduced me to her Women's Bible Study group and afterwards, we would eagerly grab a bite to eat and catch up on each others life.  Many times, we fought for air-space as we were both talking at the same time, picking the brain of the other.  Although Cici was much more the intellectual than I, she would lower her intellect just for me so we can communicate on the same level.  

The last few years have been difficult ones for Cici.  Although it wasn't always obvious, she was struggling.  A troublesome marriage; problems at work.......family relationships that were strained....you know; things that most of us deal with at one time or another.....seemed to plague her all at the same time.  And hard as she tried, she couldn't seem to move past them.

And then I received the call this weekend......

Cici had taken her own life.  As she said in a note attached to the poem below that she mailed to me hours before ending her life,  "How blessed I have been to know you, precious friend!  May God forever bless you!!  I am just in too much pain."  Love Cici.  And with that, she included her own obituary.

PARTING

On crowded strees, in busy mart,

When from our dearest friends we part,

An optimism fills the heart

Than which there is no greater;

There is no tinge of sorrow then - 

We know full well we'll meet again,

It may be soon -- we know not when - 

"Well, so-long -- see you later!"

How casually the words are said!

And still before the day is sped

The one of us may yet be dead,

For Death's a stern Dictator;

But cheerfully we met and part,

On crowded street, in busy mart,

And voice the hope that's in our heart - 

"Well, so-long -- see you later!"

It cannot be that Death's the end,

For somewhere just around the bend

I'll meet with you again, my friend,

And join our kind Creator;

So when my Summons comes some day,

Don't grieve that I am called away,

Just clasp me by the hand and say --

"Well, so-long -- see you later!"

Sleep tight, my dear friend.
I'll see you in the morning.....